Friday, September 07, 2012

Repaying Kindness

Our most excellent host for our holiday in Malaysia, Manny, is here in Australia now. I asked if he had worked out how much we owe him as he paid for many things when we were there. He hadn't. I gave him $200 and told him to work out how much more we need to pay him. We had a nice meal at Crown with him earlier in the week, with his very old Australian ex priest 'partner'.

Tomorrow we are 'coffee hopping' with Manny. Coffee and tea and all things to with them are his business. There is some big bash at Jeff's Shed that he is involved with and while I don't know why, we won't actually have to pay for our coffee tomorrow as we go to various St Kilda cafes for coffee hopping.

I am not used to more than one cup of proper coffee a day, but I think I might do a latte (milk lining for the stomach), then a long black, then a short black. Manny tells us that no offence will be taken if we do not drink the whole cup.

Manny is staying with the ex priest not too far away. I suggested he get the Dandenong Road tram and we will meet him at St Kilda Junction to go coffee hopping. I could see I said something wrong. R picked it up. He wants to go by car. Car? In St Kilda? Not my first choice, but R was right and we are picking Manny up in Armadale with the car and we will have to find parking spaces, probably pay spaces. Not my first choice, but whatever Manny likes. He went out of his way so much for us in Malaysia, how could I deny him travel in a car instead of a tram.

That last comment by Kath made me laugh out loud! What a wonderful host you are Andrew and I love your coffee plan of action..I sometimes meet several people through the day and have to mix it up quite a bit to survive..there's even the odd Earl Grey tea thrown in!

Hard for me to imagine scarce parking around there, I remember when you could park all day around the side streets, no restrictions. Even in Fitzroy street you could get a place to park. Seems it's one of the effects of gentrification. How interesting.One night I picked up three drag queens at St Kilda junction and didn't know they were drag queens (true). I gave them a lift to Fitzroy Street. "Come to the Polynesian club," they said. And I nearly did but someone tipped me off.

If Manny shared our fascination with trams he would probably jump at the chance to use them but otherwise I assume there is the issue of 'face' and reciprocity. I think R was very alert and you have made the right choice notwithstanding any inconvenience to yourself.

RH, parking in Fitzroy Street is not bad as there are 15 and 30 min parking spaces. We found a free space for one hour in Grey Street. That was enough.

Was there a Polynesian Club?

Victor, R was alert. As it was, he moved from where he was staying to the Victoria Hotel in town, more convenient to what he has to do during the week. We transported his suitcase et al to his hotel where we dropped him. He uses PT in Melbourne a lot. While it was ok using the car for coffee hopping, there was no benefit to it apart from the luggage.

I never saw it but am sure there'd have been a Polynesian club. There were all sorts of dodgy places around there, some short-lived, serving booze out of hours. The licensing laws at the time required a meal be served at 10pm. All anyone wanted was a drink. Upstairs at the George they brought around shrivelled plates of chicken at 10. They were taken soon after, untouched. I'm certain it was the same stuff served every time and put back in the fridge.

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